Do consumers perceive sensory differences by knowing information about coffee quality?

Coffee is a very complex drink, with different sensory characteristics, which directly influences in its acceptance. In general, the coffee quality assessments by experts do not correspond to consumer preferences. This study aimed to assess consumers' sensory response to coffee treatments classified as special and non-special (by cuppers), with different roasts (light and dark), in sensory tests with and without information about quality, type of roasting and price of coffees. Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) and acceptance tests were performed to evaluate the treatments. In CATA analysis, without information, only one attribute was significant to differ the treatments (p < 0.05). Contrastly, in CATA analysis with information, nine attributes were detected that contributed to the differentiation between the special coffees with light roasting and the other coffees. There was no significant difference between the treatments (p > 0.05) in the acceptance tests without information, for the flavor and overall acceptance attributes. In general, the scores assigned to special coffees were higher than those assigned to non-special coffees, in the acceptance tests with information. Therefore, the characteristics of special coffees can be used as a marketing strategy by industries, to increase theirs sales and to optimize the consumers’ sensory experience with the drink.